Data curation standards and the messy world of social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources – data about the characteristics of different occupational positions – play a unique role in social science research. They are of relevance across diverse research disciplines and in numerous disparate contexts. They are also very widely available, typically freely downloadable from research-oriented academic web-pages. But they are also one of the most uncoordinated types of information resource that social scientists routinely come across. In this paper we describe issues in curating occupational information resources during the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http:/www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardised framework electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data-indexing service, premised upon eScience middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Data curation standards and social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources - data about the characteristics of different occupational positions - are widely used in the social sciences, across a range of disciplines and international contexts. They are available in many formats, most often constituting small electronic files that are made freely downloadable from academic web-pages. However there are several challenges associated with how occupational information resources are distributed to, and exploited by, social researchers. In this paper we describe features of occupational information resources, and indicate the role digital curation can play in exploiting them. We report upon the strategies used in the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http://www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardized framework-based electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data indexing service, based on e-Science middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

A re-evaluation of finite-element models and stress-intensity factors for surface cracks emanating from stress concentrations

A re-evaluation of the 3-D finite-element models and methods used to analyze surface crack at stress concentrations is presented. Previous finite-element models used by Raju and Newman for surface and corner cracks at holes were shown to have ill-shaped elements at the intersection of the hole and crack boundaries. These ill-shaped elements tended to make the model too stiff and, hence, gave lower stress-intensity factors near the hole-crack intersection than models without these elements. Improved models, without these ill-shaped elements, were developed for a surface crack at a circular hole and at a semi-circular edge notch. Stress-intensity factors were calculated by both the nodal-force and virtual-crack-closure methods. Both methods and different models gave essentially the same results. Comparisons made between the previously developed stress-intensity factor equations and the results from the improved models agreed well except for configurations with large notch-radii-to-plate-thickness ratios. Stress-intensity factors for a semi-elliptical surface crack located at the center of a semi-circular edge notch in a plate subjected to remote tensile loadings were calculated using the improved models. The ratio of crack depth to crack length ranged form 0.4 to 2; the ratio of crack depth to plate thickness ranged from 0.2 to 0.8; and the ratio of notch radius to the plate thickness ranged from 1 to 3. The models had about 15,000 degrees-of-freedom. Stress-intensity factors were calculated by using the nodal-force method

Effects of nano-SiC addition on the superconducting properties of magnesium diboride

In this study, we report the results on phase formation, microstructures, and superconducting properties of a series of MgB2 samples with different level of SiC additions. The polycrystalline samples were prepared via solid state reaction by mixing magnesium, boron and silicone carbide powders according to the ratio of Mg:B:SiC = 1:2:x. XRD spectra showed that MgB2 is the primary phase while Mg2Si, MgO and MgB4, together with some unreacted SiC are the secondary phases as the addition increases. The presence of Mg2Si became more significant as the addition level increased. SEM images showed smaller grains as the addition level increases indicating more grain boundaries were formed. The Tc was as low as 30.5K for x=15wt%. The field dependence of Jc showed that x=1wt% sample gave the best performance at both 5K and 20K

From book to stage to screen: semiotic transformations of Gothic horror genre conventions

This paper adopts a multimodal social semiotic approach for exploring the semiotic changes involved in the transformation of a novel into stage and screen productions. It examines how semiotic resources are deployed in each medium through elements of mise-en-scène, such as speech, music, sound, lighting, props, staging, and cinematographic techniques, and the viewing perspectives that are thus established for audiences. The genre of Gothic horror is selected for this purpose, given how this form of performance has transfixed audiences for centuries and has been adapted for both the stage and the screen. In order to demonstrate how each performance medium has produced its own unique set of foregrounding devices to enthral and captivate audiences, a comparative analysis of excerpts from the novel The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, a videotaped theatrical performance, and the 1989 British television film of the same name is undertaken. The paper discusses the implications of the multimodal semiotic approach for developing a better understanding of the semiotic transformations that horror genre conventions undergo in different media and the viewership positions that are thus re-drawn for audiences. The paper concludes with a view of multimodal recontextualisation processes which form the underlying basis of human sociocultural life

Clock and Trigger Synchronization between Several Chassis of Digital Data Acquisition Modules

In applications with segmented high purity Ge detectors or other detector arrays with tens or hundreds of channels, where the high development cost and limited flexibility of application specific integrated circuits outweigh their benefits of low power and small size, the readout electronics typically consist of multi-channel data acquisition modules in a common chassis for power, clock and trigger distribution, and data readout. As arrays become larger and reach several hundred channels, the readout electronics have to be divided over several chassis, but still must maintain precise synchronization of clocks and trigger signals across all channels. This division becomes necessary not only because of limits given by the instrumentation standards on module size and chassis slot numbers, but also because data readout times increase when more modules share the same data bus and because power requirements approach the limits of readily available power supplies. In this paper, we present a method for distributing clocks and triggers between 4 PXI chassis containing DGF Pixie-16 modules with up to 226 acquisition channels per chassis in a data acquisition system intended to instrument the over 600 channels of the SeGA detector array at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Our solution is designed to achieve synchronous acquisition of detector waveforms from all channels with a jitter of less then 1 ns, and can be extended to a larger number of chassis if desired.Comment: CAARI 200